


Flight Delay

by wherenonagoes



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek (2009), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-07
Updated: 2014-12-19
Packaged: 2018-02-28 13:46:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2734817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wherenonagoes/pseuds/wherenonagoes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim is used to flying, it's nothing new with having family in Iowa and going to school in The City. What he isn't used to is having six hour delays and not even getting onto the plane until four in the morning. And he especially isn't used to someone talking as though their brain was a dictionary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 2 AM

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work in progress title, the whole thing is a work in progress, and I'll most likely go through and edit it more once the entire thing is finished, so please bear with me. Thank you for reading!

The number of things that seemed to be working against Jim seemed to be rising with every passing minute. He checked his watch again, still amused that his mother had sent him one, and looked back to what the clock at the gate read. Of course they were the same, but that was one of the things Jim didn’t like. His plane had been scheduled to leave at eight the previous night; it was now two in the morning. Sure, there was a good reason, the snow blowing almost sideways outside being one of them and the city wide power outage being another. The airport thankfully had back up generators, like most, but that didn’t mean that they could get out of the snow and back to California.

And that wasn’t the only thing going on around him. A family of five, the parents seemingly having triplets, were trying to keep them quiet, as they apparently hadn’t had their nap, and everyone was soon learning that. The food stalls in the immediate vicinity were all closed, it was two in the morning so what could he expect? That, and the nearest available seat was two gates over. It started to seem worth it though, as Jim was going on five hours of standing, having relinquished his seat to a very pregnant woman, who he knew probably shouldn’t even be making the flight that late in her pregnancy. He jostled his things around, trying to stretch some part of his body without knocking into someone else, and sighed when he rolled his shoulders back. He never thought he would die from hunching over in an overcrowded airport, but here he was.

He finally gave in, if the flight had been delayed six hours already, it would probably be another ten before they could even get the planes in their correct spots to even get them loaded. Jim gathered his bags and tried to maneuver through the people, getting many rude stares and a few curses thrown at him. He didn’t care though, as long as it meant a place to sit down and stretch out, maybe even take a nap.  The gate was completely empty except for a few that seemed to be in the same position as him and wanted to sleep. There was one person though that typed idly away on their laptop, and he couldn’t help but stare.

Jim had seen him before, he knew that, but where? He had to be on the same flight, because they were the only one that hadn’t been able to make it out before the snow had started to fall almost seven hours ago. Why was the guy working when he could be sleeping? It wasn’t like they were leaving anytime soon. Jim hauled his things over to the only person that seemed to be awake, placing on the seat and table across from him and then proceeded to get out his own gadgets and their chargers, because of course there happened to be more outlets in the empty gate than the one filled with what felt like the entire population of Iowa.

As he set himself up, the man across from him didn’t look up from his computer once, he just kept typing away, not even pausing or seeming to backspace at all. It was more than a little weird, but Jim wasn’t going to think about that. He sat down on the chair, wishing that airports could get something more comfortable than a cushion thinner than his finger, and rested his own laptop on top of his legs. He didn’t have anything he had to do, it was winter break, and the fall semester had ended, which meant anything he wanted to do now was up to him. But as his computer started up, he couldn’t really think of anything he wanted to do. What he did want was to be back home in San Francisco, and to be on the stupid ass plane already, but he didn’t get to decide that.

His laptop now fully started up, waited for him to put in his password, but he wasn’t entirely sure what he would do, that and he was still staring at the man across from him typing without a pause.

“It is deemed quite rude to stare at someone you are not acquainted with.” Jim blinked as the man spoke. How the hell had he known Jim was staring? He hadn’t looked up from his computer, he was still typing away like he was going to die if he didn’t.

“I think it’s also rude to be typing that loud.” Okay, that was sort of a lie. The guy’s typing was quiet, and the only reason Jim could even hear it was because there wasn’t anyone else around them. Not only that, but Jim was sure his typing was a lot louder and more obnoxious, though he hadn’t started to type anything yet.

“The volume of my typing is relative. If it so annoys you, I apologize, but I will not refrain from finishing my work because of your noise level preference.”

“Well that’s sure as hell a fancy way to say you don’t care.”

“You are correct in your assumption that I do not care about your preference in relations to my typing.” And then he kept typing. Jim shook his head, baffled at the guy in front of him. It sounded as though he’d eaten a dictionary for breakfast, or maybe a late dinner with the time it currently was.  Jim couldn’t keep his eyes off of him though, and he began to notice everything else. The guy’s haircut made him look like a nerd from the 50s or something, all he needed was the glasses.  He had on a black scarf that looked to be wrapped around his neck twenty times, and a dark blue sweater that looked to be handmade, which either meant he made it or his mom was still making him clothes.

“Your continual staring grows annoying. Why are you interested in me?” The man did stop typing now, though it was probably because he was finished with whatever he was typing, because now he seemed to be clicking his mouse over and over. Jim shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s two in the morning. I don’t even know half of the things I’m doing, let alone why I’m doing them.” Seriously if Jim could keep track of himself as much as this guy seemed to be, well, he’d just be really self-aware.  He still had his laptop out, and he just now noticed, how could this guy expect him to understand why he’s staring? That didn’t really mean anything though, because Jim did know why he was staring. The guy was good looking. Sure, his eyebrows seemed to be straight lines and pointed in an odd direction, but whatever, he still looked good.

“Maybe you should take advantage of the chairs next to you not having armrests and sleep. The plane I assume we’re both waiting for, isn’t going to be leaving for another two hours." And now he was closing his laptop completely, though he didn’t move to put it away in one of his bags, instead just staring at Jim. He wasn’t too sure this guy was blinking. Jim stared right back though, until he completely registered the guy's last comment.

“Wait, how do you know the planes not leaving for another two hours?” He could sleep on the plane, that had been his intention before it got delayed almost seven hours. He shifted in his seat, leaning back and letting himself relax as much as he could in an airport chair.

“The snow has stopped, but it will take that long before the planes are amply ready to take off. boarding should begin in approximately an hour and a half.” Putting away his laptop, the man looked away from him, paying more attention to what he was retrieving or whatever he happened to be doing with his bag. Jim looked behind him, looking out the window to see that yes, the snow had stopped, and it even looked as though the clouds were beginning to thin and disappear.

“I’ll just sleep on the plane. It’s like, what, a five hour flight from here? Plus if I slept now I would miss out on our thrilling conversation.” Always making it difficult for every party involved, the Jim Kirk way. The guy didn’t roll his eyes, but Jim could feel that he wanted to, he just gave that sort of feeling to every person he me, though he wouldn’t say he didn’t try.

“Five hours and approximately 25 minutes, and I would doubt that our conversation would be categorized as ‘thrilling’.” After pulling a small tablet out of his bag, the man replaced it on the ground near his feet, and then began looking through whatever it was he was looking through.

“Its better than sitting over there with the crying triplets.”

“.... Agreed.”

“See? It is thrilling. Anyway, I don’t think I’ve told you my name, and introductions are important especially if we’re going to be keeping each other company the next two hours-”

“An hour and a half. Boarding will start in an hour and a half.”

“Yeah, whatever, I was rounding up. Anyway, I’m Jim.” Jim stood from his seat and took the one and a half steps over to the other chair, his hand out and waiting. The other man looked up from his tablet to the hand and then to Jim. He took it hesitantly, barely shaking it. And goddamn his hands were ice.

“I am Spock.” Jim kept shaking his hand until he finished, not believing how cold it was.

“Huh, never heard that one before.” Jim smirked and went to sit back down on his chair. Spock watched him hesitantly before he answered.

“My parents… were rather fond of science fiction novels.” And it didn’t seem as though Spock was too proud of that. He continued to look through his tablet, and Jim couldn’t help but watch. At least he wasn’t typing again.

“What, so Spock is some sort of alien name or something?”

“Yes.” It didn’t seem as though that this was the first time someone had asked Spock that question, and Jim laughed silently to himself; he’d obviously grown tired of people asking him that question, but was used to it.

“Well that’s cool. I’m just named after my grandfathers. Nothing special. James Tiberius Kirk. It’s kinda lame, I guess.” Okay, Jim was playing it off. He loved his name, and his middle name just made him sound ten time cooler. Spock watched him and nodded.

“If we are giving each other our full names, then mine is Spock Grayson.”

“What, no middle name?”

“No.” Spock continued to only acknowledge Jim by talking, not looking or trying to make any sort of eye contact. His answer effectively cut off any other thing they could talk about. Jim was basically dead on his feet, or dead on his ass since he was sitting, so he couldn’t think of that much. Except wait,they were on the same flight. That meant that of course Spock was going to something in San Francisco, there had to be something waiting for him there, and so that would be a reasonable topic to bring up… Right?

“So, what’re you going to the City for? Visiting family for the holidays?”

“I’m returning to school.”

“What? Isn’t it supposed to be like Christmas break everywhere? The semesters over.” Yeah, Jim had skipped the rest of his since he’d convinced his teachers to give him his finals early, but going back to school was the last thing on his mind, even if his school was also within the bay area.

“I work at the school I attend as a librarian. I’m working until the Monday before Christmas.”

“That’s a pain in the ass. I work at a shitty auto repair and restore shop. I’m not a full time student, sadly. Not enough money to pay for it.” That was only partially true. He didn’t have enough money to be a full time student because he kept spending his on spare parts to build new cars and bikes, but Spock didn’t need to know that.

“If your place of employment is undesirable, why are you working there?” Jim knew that Spock couldn’t really be interested in his work life, but it was a good conversation starter, he’d give him that. And not just that, but Jim actually loved talking about his job, and Spock was gonna get an earful if he wasn’t careful.

“Because I don’t have to pay for the tools and I have a workshop that I also don’t have to pay for.  I get paid for it. And it’s not that bad, I mean, the manager likes me and I’m right under him. I talk more shit about it than there really is.”

“Then why insult a workplace that you enjoy being employed?” Was this guy serious? Did he really not understand what Kirk was saying?

“It’s just a phrase, Spock. You’re not an actual alien, are you? You understand what a phrase is?” Okay, he knew he was being mean, he knew that he probably shouldn’t have said that, but he could blame that on lack of sleep too, right? He shifted in his chair, shoving his hands into his pockets and waiting for Spock’s reply.

“I am human, and yes I know what a phrase is.” Spock kept to his work while he talked, and it sort of scared Jim, He wasn’t too sure if he’d just turned away the one person he’d been able to pass the time with. Jim forced a cough and adjusted himself in his seat again, wondering what he would talk about now.

“Enough about my job, what about you? A librarian? That’s sexy.”  Jim smirked and watched as Spock visibly paused with whatever he was doing. That meant that Jim had definitely said something that paused his brain functions, which felt even more sexy at that point. This guy didn’t seem to be distracted by anything, like a computer with a heart, or least some semblance of one, and Jim had made him pause.

“Yes, I’m a librarian at the university I attend.  I find it hard to see how such a position is sexual in any way.” Spock seemed to be unable to continue with whatever he was doing after Jim made him comment, and so proceeded to begin to put away his tablet. Jim would be lying if he wasn’t proud of that.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if you do, but some of your patrons might think that. And I know you work at your college, but how do you like it? Is it the best thing you’ve ever done in your entire life?” And now Jim was trying to pull out more from Spock than ever. He just wanted something to talk about and this happened to be a subject they could  talk a lot about. Not to mention Jim couldn't be the only one bored out of his mind.

"As I have yet to experience my entire life, I can not come to the conclusion that it is my best experience, but it is not the best one I have had thus far." So there was something Spock didn’t enjoy about his job. There was bound to be something, and Jim was determined to find out what.

“Ah, so there is something you don’t like about it. What would that be?” What could Spock not like about working in a library? He seemed to be the kind of guy who would love everything about a library. He probably got off to the amount of books around him.

“The freshmen students. They don’t study the book cataloging system, or use the online catalog to find the book they require. They fill up most of my day and I rarely finish all of my assigned duties.” It seemed that just talking about them made Spock weary, or maybe that was just Jim projecting himself onto the man in front of him. But other than that the idea of Spock being annoyed by little freshmen was enough to get him to laugh. And if he saw it correctly, Spock was sort of smiling too.

“All freshmen are like that. They try to look cool with their sports cars that their parents’ paid for and then don’t even know how to take care of them. I can’t count how many times a freshmen has tried to tell me how to do my job fixing their pieces of shit. Well, basically anyone trying to tell me how to do my job makes me angry. I’m the best one in the shop, I’m better than my manager, and he knows it.” And there was nothing he hated more than being told what to do, which was another reason why he wasn’t a full time student.

“As I have yet to inquire, what university are you attending? If we attend within the same area, there is approximately a 34 percent chance we attend the same school.” And now Spock was asking the questions, which definitely meant he was interested, or at least Jim liked to read it that way.

“I go to Starfleet Academy. You know, wanting to help design some of the first ships that can get out into space in a decent amount of time.” And even though he was trying to help develop such technologies, he knew they weren’t getting anywhere. That, and mostly the teachers and other students geeked out about how cool it would be to go into space and actually be able to come back to Earth in the same year.

“It seems we attend the same school then. I suspected as much. What year are you? I haven’t seen you in the library and I’ve worked there since my beginning year.” Spock crossed his legs and arms, though it looked to be more out of being cold than out of trying to keep himself confined like Jim had learned through too many failed psychology classes.

“You actually think I would use the library? The Internet is a thing, and I would rather look through there than try to find a book in the library. I don’t know a single thing about that place.” Except that Spock worked there, and that was sounding like a good enough reason to maybe take a visit, if only to get a look at the ass he was sitting on.

“There are more than books in the library. I am there to assist people with their investigations for papers and other such research as well as to advise on current school related issues and the best course of action to take. Checking out books and returning them to their places does not take even up half of my time there.” And it felt as though Spock was making it clear that his job was not in fact boring, which Jim would have to disagree with. It sounded like he would lose brain cells just sitting in the place, unless Spock was talking to him, and then maybe his smarts might rub off on him.

“Interesting. Maybe I’ll have to come in and visit you one day.” Now that he actually said it out loud, it seemed more likely to happen, and Jim couldn’t really think of what was beginning to happen. He looked down at his watch and sighed. “I wish time would just fly by. We’re having fun, right? Isn’t that how its supposed to work?”

“Jim, as you informed me early, I am understanding of expressions, but it seems as though you are not.”

“What that a joke?”

“It was merely an observation of you using a phrase and meaning it literally.” Spock was joking, sure he was being literal, but he was still joking, and he was still managing to get a laugh out of Jim. Though anyone at this point could probably do that since he hadn’t slept in over 24 hours. He looked to his watch again, a grin on his face before he frowned again. They had at least another hour until boarding started, and he didn’t really know what else he could do at this point. Was he supposed to keep talking to Spock for the next hour? Maybe he could convince the guy to walk around with him and maybe find a food stall that hasn’t closed, or is just opening again since people most likely are raving for food. Jim’s sure his stomach isn’t the only one growling at this point.

“I guess you caught me, Spock. Hey, you wanna go and see if any of the food stalls are open nearby?” It wasn’t a date, they just met, Jim just figured he wasn’t the only one getting hungry, and so it was just a good idea to go around with someone else. It meant not looking like a loser, though he was pretty sure that everyone looked like a loser in the airport. Nobody seemed to understand them.

“It would be irresponsible to leave our luggage here without someone attending to it, and a hassle to carry it around with us… but the likelihood of someone stealing our belongings at this hour is minimal.” Spock seemed to hesitate while saying the last bit, and Jim understood. Airports were creepy, and he hated the idea of leaving their stuff there. But they could hide it or just make sure no one was around, and they would probably be fine, just like Spock said.

“So is that a yes?”

“Affirmative.” Spock then reached into the front pocket of his bag, pulling out a small black wallet. Jim smiled and stood from his seat, stretching his arms out above him and next to him, hoping to crack his back. Spock did the same, though he looked a little less ridiculous when he was stretching. He probably knew what was more effective or something when it came to that kind of thing. Either way when Spock stretched his arms up, Jim got to see what was under the sweater, though it didn’t rise that much above his pants. He smirked and then looked back up to Spock’s face, only to keep looking up because it seemed to be that Spock stood about an inch or two taller than him. Taller guys, that was a bit sexy. But that wasn’t what he was supposed to be thinking about. They were getting food.

“I suggest that we walk down towards the main food hall, where it is more likely to have an open restaurant.” Spock began to walk briskly away from where they were sitting, and Jim had to fast walk in order to catch up with him.

“We’re not in a hurry, Spock. We’ve got another hour; we can stroll through this place. It isn’t like the food court is gonna be packed with people if everything’s closed.” That, and Jim didn’t want to tire himself out more by practically running down the airport when they had those neat little walkways that rolled down the long hallways. Maybe they should put those in their future space ships, it would make getting around the things a lot faster if they ended up being as large as one of the other engineering majors wanted them to be.

“I am aware, but I would also not like to allow anyone with malicious intent towards our belongings the time to steal them.” It made sense, and Jim was a bit peeved at that, because he still didn’t want to hurry. Walking was nice, and they were almost jogging.

“Whatever. Let’s just get there, because I could definitely use some coffee if I’m gonna have to stay up another hour and a half before we’re in the air.” Jim picked up his pace to match Spock’s, though his strides seemed to be shorter than the taller man’s. They eventually got in the food court, and thankfully not only was a Starbucks open, so Jim could get his precious pumpkin spice latte, not that he would ever admit to loving them, but he could also get a something worthy of dinner, like a burger from the McDonalds stall, even if he hated them. He understood wanting greasy food, but McDonald’s greasy food? That was a heart attack waiting to happen.

“I’ll meet you back by the hallway entrance towards the gate?” Jim glanced over to Spock, who seemed to be surveying the options available at this hour, nodding back silently.

“Twenties minutes would be an adequate time to be here, though the shorter the more likely our baggage will still remain where we placed them.” And that was his way of telling Jim to not take too long, because he didn’t want all of his shit stolen.  Jim nodded and they both departed. Jim glanced back towards where Spock seemed to be heading, only to find that Spock was following him towards the Starbucks.

“You getting coffee?”

“No, I’m going to purchase one of their parfaits. I have not had one, but I require something sweet.” The look on Spock’s face made Jim grin. He couldn’t believe a person that was so stiff and logical would need something sweet. Then again, he didn’t really know Spock all that much. They’d only been talking for about a half hour after all. He turned back around though, walking and stopping in front of the coffee stall, looking at the menu as though he didn't have it memorized.

Spock stopped next to him, also looking through the menu even though their selection of parfaits happened to be in the cooler in front of them. Another thing was that Jim was sure he could feel the heat coming off of Spock's hand, and that more than warmed his body. He bit his lip and continued to look through the menu, seeing if they had their specialty drinks there, which of course they did; it was the beginning of December after all.

“You ready to get your breakfast?” Jim glanced up toward Spock, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“I've decided to order a drink, but yes.” Spock moved forward, stepping into the small line, and picked up one of the parfaits from the cooler. Jim stepped behind him, and he wouldn't lie, he was checking out his ass, and he wasn't disappointed. But then Spock was ordering his drink, getting some kind of tea a certain way that Jim couldn't follow. He blinked a few times before he realized that the cashier was waiting for his order.

“Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte, and uh, one of those ham and cheese croissants.” Because it seemed as though some had just been made, or heated as he suspected. The cashier rung him up, and he handed over the cash and stuffed the change into his pocket. He looked over to Spock, who waited patiently in front of the pick up counter, the small parfait in his left hand, his other hand still by his side.

“What'd you get?” Jim put his hands in his pockets again, and looked behind the counter towards at the baristas getting their orders ready.

“Green tea. I thought it would be logical to have a beverage as well before I boarded the plane.” Spock then stepped forward as his order was placed down. Steam rose from the small slit, and Jim felt sort of jealous; he should have gotten a hot drink, it had been snowing outside for almost four hours.

“Cool,” Jim replied. He took his croissant from the barista, and picked his coffee up. Spock was waiting for him, taking a sip of his tea before Jim joined him and they began to walk back to the gate.

Their things were still there, unmoved and untouched, as though there was never any idea of someone stealing their belongings. Jim couldn't help but watch Spock's ass before he sat down, and copied him and sat with his things across the small walkway. They were both silent as they ate, and Jim found himself watching Spock closely as he took spoonfuls of his parfait. It wasn't until then that Jim remembered that he really needed to go to the bathroom, because he hadn't had access to one when he was in the middle of a large group of people.

“Hey, I'm gonna go take a leak. Watch my stuff?” Jim swallowed his last bite and stood back up, pulling his pants up with him. Spock rose an eyebrow.

“If are things were not taken while they were unattended, do you expect someone to come and try to steal them with me present?”

“No, I don't. I'll be back.” As soon as Jim was no longer looking towards Spock he stretched his neck, cracking it a few times before he entered the bathroom.

Less than a half hour to go, and Jim couldn't stop moving in his seat. He wanted to leave. The gate attendants had said that boarding was starting soon, that they would start with first class and unattended minors and other such things. When Spock began to gather his things around more Jim grew a bit nervous.

“You're in first class?” It was obvious now, Spock had his ticket in his lap, and it wasn't too far away that Jim couldn't read it from his lap. That meant he was gonna be alone again, and sure, he was more used to it than not, but he'd grown to really like Spock.

“Affirmative. From your question, I assume you are not. As it seemed to be that they are beginning boarding early, this will be good bye. Good bye, James T. Kirk.” Spock rose with his bags, and Jim turned to see that yes, they were beginning to board the first class section, along with families with children under 3, the one pregnant woman, and the elderly. Jim's seat was in the back of plane, and he knew he'd be getting on after them, or at least he had thought that. He gathered his own things, but his ticket number wasn't called until about twenty minutes first class, and so he had to force his way through the people and the families trying to get their luggage into the above compartments. Jim forced himself back, continuing to glance at his ticket and seat number. The last thing he expected was to see that Spock was sitting on the window seat in his row. Jim had gotten the middle one.

He stuffed his bag in the above compartment because there thankfully was enough room to fit his small duffel bag. He smirked at Spock, who noticed him as he moved his things, and he didn't really know what to make of the expression on his face.

“Thought you were in first class?” Jim took his seat, buckling himself in after pushing his backpack under the chair in front of him. Spock moved slightly to try and get more room; airplanes were small, Jim knew that, but he couldn't move in any way to not be touching Spock every second. Their legs would just be next to each other the entire time.

“I gave my ticket to the pregnant woman. She is incredibly close to being due, though she is only seven months along. I thought it logical to provide her comfort on a flight of this duration.” Spock was quieter now, probably because everyone else seemed to be obscenely loud, and even Jim was noticing that.

“Ah, that makes sense. I would've done that too. And hey, this way we get to spend a whole 'nother five hours together.” Jim wasn't too sure if that was good or bad, and from the look on Spock's face, he didn't know either.


	2. The Drive Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of the flight and the ride home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making you wait! Finals and papers and traveling home had to happen, so I didn't have a lot of free time. I hope you like it! And thank you for reading!

They sat there, Kirk squished between the elderly woman who seemed to have already fallen asleep on the aisle seat and Spock. He didn’t feel too bad about scooting closer to him, and Spock didn’t see to notice, or at least didn’t say anything about it. They were there, sitting, doing nothing, for at least another half hour before the captain and the attendants all started to do their jobs. They showed a small explanation of airplane safety and the attendants showed them all with little makeshift seat belts how to buckle up and that they would be able to get up from their seats once they reached cruising altitude.

“When spaceships finally become a thing, and I’m not saying we’re anywhere near close to designing one, I’m gonna make sure there’s more leg room.”

“That might not be possible with the current designs I am aware of. If you are planning on designing and engineering a design meant for faster than light travel, then legroom may not be a thing you can add for comfort.” Spock looked out the window while he talked, though it was still dark and cloudy, and if Jim didn’t know better he would have bet that it would start snowing again.

“Whatever. I’ll totally make it a thing. I’ll pass it down to my children and grandchildren that leg room is the most important aspect of a ship, because they obviously weren’t thinking about that when they made these hunks of metal.” Jim knew he wasn’t a child, so he wasn't going to stomp on the ground or kick the chair in front of him and complain that he wouldn’t be able to stretch his legs until he was off the plane in San Francisco, but that didn’t mean he welcomed being uncomfortable.

Spock didn’t reply to him, as the plane then began to move, driving down the runway until they were in the air, steadily climbing. The lights in the cabin began to turn off save for the overhead lights some of the passengers had on; it didn’t look as though they would be showing the movies that Jim had been hoping for. He turned to see that the woman next to him had put on the blanket and had already declined her chair and was asleep yet again. Spock faced forward, not doing anything, and he wasn’t exactly sure why.

“Hey man, you okay?” It was probably just Jim seeing things, because Spock had seemed fine before, but he wasn’t going to assume anything.

“I am unable to sleep. The tea I drank before had more caffeine than I anticipated and has made me very… aware.”

“Aware of what?”

“Aware of more things than I would wish to be.”

“Well, we could watch a movie on my laptop or something to pass the time. You could put in headphones and try to ignore the other people, or read a book. I have a few novels in my backpack. You could probably finish them before we landed.” Jim began to reach for his backpack, but Spock stopped him.

“Do not feel the need to help me. I’m fine, I just need to calm myself and let myself sleep. I think my pillow and blanket fell onto the ground though, could you pick those up?” The small pillow and blanket that the airliners provided were in fact on the ground, Jim’s were too, so he picked those both up instead of his backpack and handed a pair of them to Spock before he wrapped his own blanket around himself and put his pillow behind his head.

“Music can still help you know. You have a pair of headphones?” Jim began to pull his own out of his jacket pocket, pulling out his small phone alongside. He’d already switched the communications off, so all it was good for now was the music player. Spock nodded and leaned down to look through his bags for his headphones. Jim pulled out his dual headphone jack, plugging it into his phone, and then plugging in his headphones. Spock followed suit, and Jim unlocked his phone, which he didn’t hide was a picture of a rather hot male model from a calendar Jim had gotten as a present that year. He opened the music app and then handed the device over to Spock to choose. Any music on his phone was fine, and so when Spock decided that they were going to listen to classical, he smiled and took the phone back, placing it in his pocket and leaning back. It was going to be a long flight, and he wanted to be asleep for most of it, which wouldn’t be hard if Spock really wanted to listen to Beethoven.

The next thing Jim knew he felt someone touching his shoulder. He opened his eyes, only to feel a weight on his head. It made him jerk and he then found out that he’d been sleeping in probably the most awkward and embarrassing way. Spock seemed to realize that right away as well. The old woman next to him couldn’t stop smiling and told him that they were beginning their descent and that it was six o’clock in the current time zone. Jim nodded, suppressing a yawn and trying not to look to Spock. They’d slept on each other, though apparently Jim had been the first to fall, and Spock after. He hoped he hadn’t drooled.

“Uh, sorry about that.” Jim pulled out his headphone, as only one had stayed in while he’d been sleeping, and pulled out his phone from his pocket. The phone had died, meaning for probably a better part of the flight they hadn’t been listening to anything. Spock took his headphones and wrapped them around in a circle before replacing them in his bag.

“Do not apologize. We made best with our situation, and I feel adequately rested. I hope you do as well.” Spock began to fold his blanket and wrapped it around his pillow before placing it in his lap. Jim followed suit and tried to stretch his back, rolling his shoulders into the chair and hoping he could get some  sort of stretch in the confines of his seat.

“Surprisingly, yeah.” Jim felt really rested, as much as he could after a five hour flight in what felt like the tiniest plane on the planet. He cracked his neck, and he sighed after, relief flooding through his body. There were still things he needed to think about before he got off the plane like where the hell had Bones parked his truck in the parking lot, and did Bones even park it there, or had he taken it home? There were a bunch of things that he didn’t want to worry about until his feet hit the ground, but he was thinking about them now.  “Oh hey, are you planning on catching a bus or taxi home?”

Spock glanced towards him before he turned and opened the window, looking outside. They were going through a thick cloud, which meant either rain or fog down in the bay, and Jim was kind of excited for that.

“I had been planning on taking a taxi. Why?”

“Well, I have a truck in the parking lot. I could take you home so you don’t have to pay taxi fare. You know how expensive that is.” Jim smirked and Spock nodded. Jim only took the truck if he was going out of the city, and if he needed to go somewhere inside? Well, he took a bus or walked, because it simply wasn’t worth it to drive when he got less than 15 miles to the gallon.

“I had planned on calling a taxi to come and pick me up, but another ride would be preferable. I will be able to pay for gas.” Spock began to move around in his seat more, and looked down the aisle. Jim turned from Spock slowly, until he saw what was going on. There were a few screams, and the flight attendants were all rushing near the front part of the plane. Everyone seemed to want to know what was going on, but Jim instantly understood.

“She’s going into labor.”

“It would seem so. We should be landing in the next ten minutes and they will be able to notify an ambulance to come and pick her up from the plane.” Spock situated himself then, returning to the position he had been in previously. Jim glanced to him before returning to look down the long aisle. He wasn’t anywhere near first class, but he could still see that the flight attendants were already trying to get her ready for departure from the plane.  Others were nervous and jittery as they heard the screams of pain come from the pregnant woman, and Jim would have to put himself among them. He hadn’t seen a baby born before, and he didn’t want to see one born right now.

“God, why can’t we land? We can’t be that far!” Jim needed to stand up, he needed to pace, he needed to stretch his limbs in some sort of way. But that wasn’t possible, and wouldn’t be until they were off the plane.

“James.” Jim turned to see Spock staring at him, and he sighed, gripping the ends of the arm rests.

“You can call me Jim, you know.”

“Jim then. We will land soon enough, and once those in front of us leave the plane, we will be able to as well. I suspect that we will only be on the plane for another fourteen minutes if they are able to safely transport the woman in labor.” Spock had his hands folded on his blanket still, as calm as ever, and Jim couldn’t help but think about how odd that was. Everyone else on the plane seemed to be jittery, so why wasn’t he? Maybe he was lying about being human.

Spock was right though, in another fifteen minutes, they were both walking off of the plane, the woman had already been taken off in an ambulance rushing to the hospital. Jim pulled the straps on his backpack, tightening after getting off the plane and out into the gate. Spock waited for him, comfortable enough and not stretching at all. That was exactly what Jim did next before he picked up his other bag.

“Let’s get going. Maybe we can get breakfast before we leave the airport.”

“It should not take that long to drive home at this hour in the morning. We could get to my apartment, and I could supply breakfast. In thanks for driving me.” Spock stood there, unwavering and sure as ever, and Jim didn’t know what to make of it. He didn’t know what to make of anything surrounding the guy, but he did know that he was starting to like him. And it helped that he’d just offered Jim food.

“Awesome. Breakfast at your place it is. Let’s get out into the parking lot.” Jim clapped him on the shoulder with his free hand and started towards the exit of the airport. he was hungry, and the promise of breakfast was the best motivator to get home.

Spock followed close behind him until they got to the large parking lot, and that was when Jim remembered he had no clue where Bones had parked the car. Why the hell hadn’t he just driven himself? It would have made more sense, but he was also halfway to being drunk and his flight had been at eleven at night. Bones had done something for him at least, and that was more than enough to be thankful for him.

“Is there a problem, Jim?” Spock took a step forward, standing next to him with his body partially faced towards him. They were standing pretty close, and Jim kinda didn’t want to think about it.

“Uh, yeah. You see, my roommate Bones parked my car and took a taxi home, so I don’t know where it is.” There were a lot of cars, and the likelihood of spotting a brown truck out of all of them was slim.

“That presents quite a problem. Do you think he would pick up the phone if you tried to call him?”

“Uh, I would rather not do that at this time in the morning. Bones is nice, but not that nice.” Even the idea of calling Bones that early in the morning hurt Jim’s head. He could already hear the drawled curses Bones would yell at him for waking him up

“If you do not call him, the only other way to find your car is to walk up and down each row of the parking lot. And as I am sure you have noticed, it might start raining any minute, and neither of us are adequately prepared for such weather.” Jim groaned as Spock finished talking. Of course everything he said was right, but there were more problems Jim was worrying about; like how Bones would carve him a new one if he even tried to contact him that early in the morning.

“My phones dead, could I use yours?” At least Bones wouldn’t be yelling at him straight away if he called from a stranger’s phone. Spock nodded and pulled his cellphone out of his pocket, it wasn’t even on and so Jim quickly pressed the button, waiting for it to warm up. When it asked for a passcode Jim handed the phone back to let Spock put it in, then hurriedly punched in the numbers to Bones’s cellphone. What was surprising was that it seemed Spock already had the number in his phone, and Jim would have asked about it if Bones wasn’t already answering it on the second ring.

“Spock, I swear to God, if this is another one of your damnable queries-”

“Bones its Jim.” So many questions that he was even going to begin to ask, he just needed to know where his truck was.

“Jim? What the hell are you calling from Spock’s phone for?” Bones definitely just woke up, and Jim wasn’t going to try his luck and play with him, it was not the time for that. Maybe later when Jim was home, or when he was calling from his own phone.

“Mine died, and I met him at the airport and sat with him on the plane. I need to know where you parked the truck so I can get home.”

“Jim, I told you before, I texted you the parking lot number. Not even before you’d left.  Now stop bothering me, and tell Spock not to bother me either. I’ve had the night shift at the hospital the whole week now and the last thing I need are two people bothering me with stupid things.” And then Bones hung up, leaving Jim there with the phone plastered to his face from the humidity.

He took the phone away and sighed, handing it back to Spock before he dug his phone out of his backpack. He had an extra charge for it, but he hadn’t felt like using it when he was that close to home, but it seemed like he needed it now. Jim and Spock set their things by a bench, Jim preferring to stand with his phone in his hand, waiting for it to get the minimum charge it needed before he could check his text messages.

“So how the hell do you know Bones?” It was a question Jim had been asking since he saw the contact information in the phone. Spock tilted his head before answering.

“If you are referring to Leonard McCoy, you will recall he used to serve as a medical official at the academy before he moved to work at a hospital a few years ago. I would send students to him often. Eventually he asked me for my phone number so I could alert him if another student with multiple broken bones would be coming in.”

“Wait, you mean, you’re a teacher there?” Jim’s heart was starting to beat faster. He was not going to be attracted to one of the faculty. Been there, done that, didn’t need to go through that again.

“No, merely a teacher’s aid. I’ve been a teacher’s aid to multiple professors since my second semester at the academy.”  The sigh of relief that Jim had shouldn’t have been there, but it was, and he wasn’t going to comment on it if Spock wasn’t. His phone finally blinked on, and he hurriedly opened his texts to scroll through the conversation he’d had with Bones before he’d left Iowa. It was way up there, but there it was, the parking lot number was G7.

“A librarian and a teacher’s aid? That’s real hot. I’ve got the parking lot number, let’s go.” Jim pocketed his phone, keeping the extra charge plugged in while he picked up his bag and headed off towards where his truck. Spock followed close before him, and they were by the old vehicle in just a few minutes, Jim opening the door with the keys he’d stuffed at the bottom of his backpack. The stuffed their suitcases in the back seats, at least Jim did, Spock placed his in after moving his chair forward, then pushed it back to sit in it, his backpack at his feet. Jim just pushed all of his things down to make sure he could see out the rear window, and then turned the key in the ignition.

The truck started up after a few minutes, late enough that Jim was starting to worry, but not late enough that he was thinking about other ways to get home. Spock didn’t say anything until they were out of the airport, and it was only to give directions towards where he lived.

“Wait, you live on campus?” Jim couldn’t help but smirk. Of course Spock lived on campus, of course he would. He worked there and he was a teacher’s aid to how many professors?

“Yes. It was logical to remain on campus past my first year since I would be employed there. I do not have to pay housing fees, and so I can save money to use for other studies.” Jim continued to smirk as Spock explained everything that was good about living on campus. Jim had never lived on campus; the first year he went to Starfleet he hadn’t even had a real place to live at all. That wasn’t a good time, but that wasn’t what he was thinking about. What he was thinking about was Spock living on campus and having to deal with all the freshmen who were living around him.

“Yeah, and I’m sure it’s so easy to study when you have freshmen living all around you.” Jim actually laughed then, and he didn’t hide how funny he thought it was. He stopped down a hill, letting a pedestrian walk by, and continued down the street. Starfleet Academy, the nerdiest place in the country, sat on the bay, and the living quarters were resting near the top of them. Jim had been in a few, but the curtains had been pulled for obvious reasons, and so he hadn’t actually gotten the chance to see the view of the bay from them.

“The freshmen are housed in a different building. I actually have housing with the staff on campus, since I work there.” And Spock was just making himself seem more and more important with everything that came out of his mouth. It was kind of impossible for Jim to ignore the fact that he was more than a little bit turned on by how much influence this guy seemed to have, and somewhat bewildered that he’d never met him before. Or at least remembered meeting him before.

Jim finally parked in the student lot and put the small permit on the rearview mirror. He opened his door and stretched out again before grabbing his keys and his backpack. His clothes would be safe in the truck, he didn’t care much for them anyway. Spock grabbed both of his bags, and after putting his backpack on, he started towards the largest building. Jim followed him and sighed. He’d hoped he wouldn’t have to go back to school until January, but that didn’t look like it was going to happen.

There were only a few other students and some faculty walking around on campus, all in their uniforms, and Jim nodded and waved to more than a few, though he didn’t really know them, he was flirting more than anything. The whole time though he followed Spock, almost right behind him the entirety of the way to the building. Once inside they took an elevator to the 22nd flood. The music that played was nice, and Jim found himself humming along quietly to it. Spock raised an eyebrow in his direction, and he winked at him before returning his eyes to the number telling them what floor they were on, which steadily rose as they ascended.

Spock exited the elevator first, turning right down the long hallway. It was a nice place. The carpet was clean, and almost new, and each door only had one number on it, meaning that every room would only have one person. Were they apartments? Spock had mentioned making breakfast, but if he didn’t have a kitchen, how was he going to do that?

They stopped in front of a room quite near the end of the hallway, Spock reaching into his pants pocket to pull out an access key. Inside the apartment it was dark, and Jim waited until Spock went further in to turn on the light, and everything became clear, again no pun intended.

“Wow. This is a really nice place.” Jim couldn’t even believe what he was seeing. Spock had a TV mounted on the wall, a full kitchen with appliances, a couch and reclining chairs, and an amazing view from his living room. He was living the life on a school campus, and if that wasn’t fair, Jim didn’t know what was. That, and Jim’s shitty ass apartment that he shared with Bones wasn’t even eating into any of their saved money, they just didn’t want to have to deal with moving. Living on campus seemed really good now, and Jim was sort of regretting not taking the chance while he had it.

“Thank you. I chose it because the few apartments around me are all empty, so it’s tranquil and quiet.” Spock moved around his apartment, moving things and looking through cupboards and finally the fridge. He closed it and turned to face Jim again.

“Jim, I’m afraid I have no suitable food items for breakfast.”

“Then we’ll just have to go shopping then, won’t we?” Jim smirked and placed his backpack on the couch, smiling while he walked back towards the door. Spock watched him, doing nothing for about a minute until he nodded and moved towards the door as well, turning off lights and closing curtains. The two of them left the apartment, and were going down the elevator again, Jim unable to hide his smile, and Spock wearing the same blank expression he’d had on in the airport. The possibilities that ran around Jim’s head were enough to fuel his smile until they got to the front doors of the building and it was pouring rain.

 

 


End file.
